Storm cuts power to 100 customers in Dromara

Dromara was among the areas badly hit as Storm Frank lashed the province with heavy rains and 80mph winds last night.

Northern Ireland Electricity reported some 100 customers in ther area as having been left without power as a result of the storm.

NIE expected the majority of those customers to have had their power fully restored by today.

Emergency power teams worked to restore electricity to about 20,000 properties throughout the province after trees and other debris came down on power lines.

Sara McClintock, Communications Manager at NIE Networks said, “If homeowners or businesses are without electricity, we would ask them to let us know as soon as possible either by phone on 03457 643643 or online at nienetworks.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter @NIElectricity for additional updates.”

The storm also caused a number of road closures, among them the the A1 carriageway between Dromore and Banbridge, due to flooding.

Police issued warnings to motorists to drive slowly, to be prepared for debris and unreported fallen trees, and not to drive through flood waters.

Passengers on nine flights into Belfast International Airport were temporarily held on planes due to high winds on Tuesday night.

Two other inbound flights from Luton and Tenerife had to be diverted to Dublin.

A spokesperson for BIA, said the windspeed was higher than the limit for opening the aircraft doors safely.

“You have to put the steps out, and when the wind’s blowing around that’s very difficult to do,” said the spokesperson. “We’ve taken one diversion from City; we’ve taken one from Dublin and we’ve also sent one to Dublin. “It just depends where the high winds are at that time as to whether someone can get in or not.”

BIA said the disruption hada knock-on effect on other departures and asked travellers to check before leaving home.